Heat pump



I June 11, 1946. M. M. SMITH ETAL HEAT PUMP 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1945 Jun e 11, 1946. M. M. SMITH ETAL HEAT PUMP Filed Jan. 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Julie 11, 1946.

HEAT PUMP Filed Jan. 25, 1945 l L. L

M. M. SMITH ET AL s Sheets-Sheet s Patented June 11, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

HEAT PUMP Marvin M. Smith and Clesent 0. Fields, Muncie,

and Emory N. Kemler, West Lafayette, hit, assignors to Muncic Gear Works, Inc., Muncie, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application January 25, 1945, Serial No. 574,478

The main objects of this invention are to pro- 9 Claims. (CI 62--,129)

vide a simple and improved form of heat pump factory production of the complete machine, re-

indicating schematically the functional arrangement of its interior. 1 I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same with the near wall removed, and the side walls in section.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a heat exchanger coil, suitable for circulating the refrigerant in heat transferring relation to both water and air.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing the concentric arrangement of water and refrigerant pas sages in the heat'transfer coil of Fig. 4.

This invention relates primarily to an adaptation of the principles of the refrigerating machine and to certain desirable improvements in the structure and arrangement of parts, whereby the same can be made a, practical-commodity of commerce as a portable heat pump for all-year air conditioning of houses and other uses.

In the form shown, the housing I is a rectangular shell with an air inlet 2 leading to a lower chamber 3 and an. air outlet 4.! at its upper part leading to an upper air chamber 4.

The heat exchangers which constitute the condenser 5 and the evaporator 8 are arranged side by side or end to end so as to substantially fill a transverse zone between the chambers 3 and 4.

changers and direct the air flow through the nfhnr "Flu'usn 'hnfflna 3 am shit-tabla nn'rnsn the housing to provide for cooling or heating of the air stream as will hereinafter appear.

The refrigerant circulating system is hermetically sealed and comprises a suction line of piping 9, connecting the receiver l0 through the expansion valve I! and a thermostatically controlled regulating valve NJ to the refrigerant coil 6.l of the evaporator 6 and with the intake port l2 of the compressor l3, and a pressure line of piping [4, connecting the outlet port of the compressor IS with the refrigerant coil 5.! of the condenser 5 and with the receiver 4 0.

The thermostatically controlled solenoid valve .1 regulates the flow of refrigerant to suit the demand, as may be indicated by a distant-then mostat at some suitable place in the space that is to be conditioned.

The refrigerant system is purposely indicated by showing in the drawings only its most essential'elements, and omitting many details and refinements of present-day practice which have no' direct bearing on the disclosure of present invention. V

In the form shown, the heat pump is arranged to utilize, in the heating season, water as the heat source and th air of the house as the dump for heat of the refrigerant cycle; and in=the cooling season, the house air becomes the lieat source and water is utilized as the dump for. the heat of the refrigerating cycle.

The water system comprises a service pipe it from a water source, such as a city main or well, a three-way inlet valve ll, branch pipes l8 and I9 leading to condenser water-00115.2 and evaporator water-coil- 6.2 respectively, and a discharge pipe 20 to whichfthe outlet ends of the watercoils 5.2 and 6.2fare connected and whichv leads to a drain. 'A thermostatically controlled 'valve 20.! controls the flow of water in the water-coil 6.2'to prevent freezing. I

The air system comprises suitable ducts to and from the parts ofthe house to be heated and a ment 4 for moistening the air in the heating v blower 2| at the inlet 2 for forcing a circulation of air. The blower 2i and compressor 13 may have a common motor 22 or be separately driven. A water'pan llfl collectsany water that may drip from .the evaporator by reason of condensation of moisture in-the' air and also serves 'as'a baflle to direct the incoming air Over the motor and compressor to cool them. and utilize their waste heat during the heating season. A humidifier 24 may be located in the compartseason.

The heat exchan er coils are shown in Fi 1 as separate water and refrigerant coils for clearness of diagrammatically illustrating the relation and continuity oi the air, water and refrigerant circuits, but in practice these coils are more intimately associated. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5. these exchangers are made up of banks of refrigerant. tubes with water tubes inside them in concentric relation and these tubes are connected in zig-z'ag relation at their ends by appropri- -mad up of sheet metal or other material enclosing a rigid skeleton frame 23 which carries the load. The sheet metal shell of housing I may be made of flat panels with offset marginal flanges 30 clamped into channels 3| of frame bars 32 by channel-shaped filler strips33. The walls of the housing are insulated by an inner layer of insulating material 33.1.

The positioning of the bailies' 8 is controlled, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, by a system of belts or cables 34 attached to lugs 35 on the bullies 3, b means of stop buttons 36 fixed on the cable 34, The cable 34 is driven by a drum 31 having a crank 38. The cable is wound around several turns about the drum and flight 34.! of the cable ver form and be positioned so that the shiftin of baflles 8 from summer to winter position and vice versa will automatically reverse the valve l1. As shown in Fig. 2. the valve lever 1H has an eye at its end and the cable 34 has stop buttons 36 suitably spaced to accomplish this shifting with appropriate lost motion. In the diagram of Fig. 1, the cable is not shown, but is represented functionally in the form of a traveler rod having the same relation to the lever arm l'|.l of the valve l1 and to the baiiie 8 andits parts are numbered to correspond with parts of like function in Fig. 1. I

The operation of the device shown is as follows:

Except as to parts of the mechanism and equipment having direct bearing on the present invention, it shoul be understood that many details of a commercial embodiment of the heat pump are omitted from'the' drawings and this description. For example. itshould be understood that apparatus of this kind is controlled by thermo- When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. l, the fan 2| draws air from the space that is to be conditioned and forces the air to flow through thehousing I and be returned from the outlet H .to said space. Since this air current is excluded from the condenser 5, it will pass over the evaporator and be cooled thereby. iAny condensation of moisture due to this cooling of the air will be collectedand drained away by the drip pan 23.

When the motor drives the compressor l3, refrigerant will be drawn from the receiver l0 through the expansion valve II where it is expanded so as to cool the evaporator coil 6.! and will then flow to the compressor I3 where it is compressed, raising its temperature; then the compressed refrigerant vapor passes through the coil 5.l of the condenser, being condensed by the transfer of its heat to the water coil 5.2 'and finally returned to the receiver Ill. The water enters from the pipe I6 and is directed by the three-way valve IT to the pipe l8 and condenser coil 5.2 and after taking up the heat that i dumped into it in the condenser, this water drained away by I the pipe 20.

When the bafiie plates 8 are shifted to the right of Fig. 1 across the partition I and into contact with the right-hand wall. of the housing I, the air flow will be directed through the condenser duct and will be excluded from the evaporator. Under these circumstances the air pump will function as .a heater since the air will then serve as a dump for the heat of the condenser and as a cooling medium for the refrigerant and will carry its heat to the space to be heated. When the baffle plates 8 are shifted to the right of Fig. l, the element 34.5 will slide through the swiveled eye at the end of the lever I'Ll of the valve l'l until it is engaged by the left-hand button 35 and swung to the position for directing the flow of water from pipe IE to pipe i3 and evaporator coil 3.2 where heat is extracted from this water by the cold refrigerant coil 5.! of the evaporator and after passage through the compressor and evaporator coil, this heat is elevated in temperature and delivered to the air current at the condenser and then carried to the space that is conditioned,

It will thus be seen that in the apparatus shown; the refrigerant cycle is the same for both the heating and cooling seasons and that to change it from the function of heating the air to that of cooling the air and vice-versa, the operator need only turn the crank 38 in the direction it is free to move and rotate it until it is stopped by'the engagement of the baflle plates with the opposite wall of the housing, The matter of starting and stopping the mechanism according to the needs of the space to be conditioned is then controlled by thermostatic devices, not shown, the operation of which, however, is well understood.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the structure shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim: a

l. A heat pump, comprising a condenser, an evaporator, an air duct surrounding said condenser and evaporator, means for forcing air through said duct, a partition separating said condenser and evaporator, a pair of baflle plates shiitable edgewise across said duct at opposite ends of said partitionand shaped to expose either one of said condenser or said evaporator to the flow of air in said duct while isolating the other from such flow of air, and means adapted alternatively to extract heat from said condenser or to supply heat to said evaporator when out off from the air flow by said baiile means.

2. In a heat pump, an'air duct, means providing-a sealed refrigerant circuit comprising a, re-

frigerant coil in said air duct, a water coil in heat transferring relation to said refrigerant 'coil,

movable baflle means controlling the exposure of said refrigerant coil to the air flow in said air duct, a valve controlling said water-coil, andpartition and adapted in one position to direct' the air flow in said housing across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, and means adapted alternatively to extract heat from said condenser or to supply heat to said evaporator when out off from the air flow by I said bafiie means.

i. In a heat pump,-a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a refrigerant conduit comprising a condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing between said air inlet and air outlet, a partition separating said condenser and evaporator, and shiftable baiile means at both ends of said partition and adapted'in one position to direct the air flow in said housing across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in. another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, means adapted alternatively to extract heat from said condenser or to supply heat to said evaporator when cut oil? from the air flow by said baffie means, and a single operating member for shifting said baffling means from one of said positions to the other and correspondingly controlling said alternative heat extracting and supplying means.

5. In a heat pump, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a refrigerant conduit comprisinga condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing between said air inlet and air outlet, and shiftable bailie means adaptedin one position to direct the air flow in said housing across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from' said condenser, said evaporator and condenser each comprising a refrigerant coil and a water coil in heat exchange relation with each other,

and valve means adapted in one position to sup- I ply water to one said water coil and exclude it from the other water coil and in another position to cut oif said one water coil and supply the other.

6. In a heat pump, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a refrigerant conduit comprising a condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing between said air inlet and air outlet, and shiftable bailie means adapted in one position to direct the air flow in said housing across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, said evaporator and condenser each comprising a refrigerant coil and a water coil in heat exchange relation with each other, and valve means adapted in-oneposition to supply water to one said water coil and exclude it from the other water coil and in another position to out of! said one water coil and supply the other, and a single operating member for shifting said bailling means from one of said positions to the other and simultaneously controlling said valve means to supply water to the evaporator or condenser when and only when the same is excluded from the air flow by said baffling means.

i 7. In a heat pump, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a refrigerant conduit comprising a condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing between said air inlet and air outlet, a partition separating said condenser and evaporator, a pair of baille panels coacting with said partition and housing to cut off the air flow at one side of said partition, said baiile panels being shiftable across said partition, adapted in one position to direct the air flow in said housin across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, and means adapted ,alter natively to extract heat from said condenser or to supply heat to said evaporator when cut oil from the air flow by said baiiie means.

8. In a heat pump, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a refrigerant conduit comprising a condenser and an evaporator in substantial alinement with each other across said housing between said air inlet and air outlet, a partition separating said condenser and evaporator, a pair or bafile panels coacting with said partition and housing to cut oil the air flow at one side of said partition, said baffle panels being shiftable across said partition, adapted in one position to direct the air flow in said housing across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, said evaporator and condenser each comprising a refrigerant coil and a water coil in heat exchange relation with each other, and valve means adapted in one position to supply water to one said water coil and exclude it from the other water coil and in another position to cut off said one water coil and supply the other, and a single operating member for shifting said baiile panels from one of said positions to the other and simultaneously controlling said valve means to supply water to the evaporator or condenser when and only when the 7 shiftable across said partition, adapted in one position to direct the air flow in said housing across said condenser and exclude it from said evaporator and in another position to direct the air flow across said evaporator and exclude it from said condenser, said evaporator and condenser each comprising a refrigerant coil comprising water passages completely surrounded by I versa.

refrigerant. passages, and valve means arranged to supply water to the water passages of said evaporator and cut of! the supply of water from the water passages of said condenser and vice MARVIN M. SNIII'H. CLEBENT 0. FIELDS. EMORY N. KEMLER, 

